invade
Americanverb (used with object)
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to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
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to enter like an enemy.
Locusts invaded the fields.
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to enter as if to take possession.
to invade a neighbor's home.
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to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease.
viruses that invade the bloodstream.
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to intrude upon.
to invade the privacy of a family.
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to encroach or infringe upon.
to invade the rights of citizens.
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to permeate.
The smell of baking invades the house.
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to penetrate; spread into or over.
The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to enter (a country, territory, etc) by military force
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(tr) to occupy in large numbers; overrun; infest
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(tr) to trespass or encroach upon (privacy, etc)
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(tr) to enter and spread throughout, esp harmfully; pervade
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(of plants, esp weeds) to become established in (a place to which they are not native)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reinvadeverb (used with object)
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quasi-invadedadjective
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uninvadableadjective
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uninvadedadjective
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invadableadjective
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invadernoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has invadedperfect 3rd person singular
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have invadedperfect
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am invadingprogressive 1st person singular
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is invadingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are invadingprogressive
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have been invadingperfect progressive
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invadessingular 3rd person
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has been invadingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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invadingparticiple
Past
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had invadedperfect
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had been invadingperfect progressive
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invadedsimple
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invadedparticiple
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were invadingprogressive plural
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was invadingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of invade
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin invādere, from in- in- 2 + vādere “to go, walk” ( see also wade)
Explanation
When you Invade, you aggressively take over or occupy a place. If a country's leader wants to gain more land, the military might invade a neighboring country. Not everything that invades is militaristic. Some things that invade are cultural, such as the phenomena of young, stylish people moving into a neighborhood that had never been thought of as cool before. In an instant, new restaurants and shops catering to the newcomers open and soon the area is overrun with people wearing, say, skinny jeans and complicated eyewear. Natives to the area lament, "This place has been invaded by hipsters."
Vocabulary lists containing invade
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Bronx Masquerade
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The “Meaningful Movies Project” series offers another screening of Michael Moore’s documentary “Where to Invade Next” at 7 p.m.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 29, 2016
Where to Invade Next is released in the UK on 10 June.
From The Guardian • Jun. 5, 2016
Michael Moore dreams of a happier place that might be anywhere but here in “Where to Invade Next.”
From New York Times • May 14, 2016
Roadside Attractions Where to Invade Next Director Michael Moore turns to Europe and elsewhere looking for ways to cure the U.S.’ most serious ills in this globe-trotting documentary.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2016
“Are you sure about the headline in the local paper: ‘Mechanized Rats Invade Hardware Store’?”
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
